What I'm reading...

right now: The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah, in preparation for my excursion this spring with Zegrahm Expeditions.  It's an amusing first person account of life and culture in this exotic and fascinating land. I'm also a big fan of Lonely Planet guidebooks and I'm dipping into their edition on Morocco.

Maybe when I get there I'll look up Rick's Café Américain.

What I'm reading...

right now:  Race to The End - Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole by Ross D.E. MacPhee.  This is as much a coffee table book due to its lavish illustrations including archival photographs and detailed maps, as a rich account of two competing Antarctic expeditions and personalities.  The frigid evening temperatures here in the high desert make for a perfect setting to read this heroic, and tragic, tale.

Another influential book...

that I recall thumbing through during junior high school as my interest in geology grew:

This isn't my original copy, but a fun gift from good friend DA. If you know a kid with a developing interest in earth science, an updated version is available.

Related previous post.

What I'm reading...

right now:  The Wolverine Way by Douglas Chadwick.  It's an excellent description of a five-year study in Glacier National Park of one of the most fierce and tenacious creatures in the Rockies.  Outstanding tale, but perhaps a bit too much anthropomorphizing.

And just in time for my summer field class at, um, Glacier National Park.

What I'm reading...

right now: The Man Who Found Time: James Hutton and the Discovery of the Earth's Antiquity by Jack Repcheck.  What would you be reading if you were a geologist and heading for Edinburgh?

What I'm reading...

right now:  Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks by Andrea Lankford.

What I'm reading...

right now:  The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester.  Admittedly I'm late to pick up this popular title, but since I'll be in Edinburgh in June it seems appropriate to brush up on the history of geology, especially in Great Britain.

Two influential books...

that shaped my interests in high school:

• Geology Illustrated by John S. Shelton
• Depths of the Earth by William R. Halliday

What I'm reading...

right now:  The Thousand-Mile War by Brian Garfield.  This book details the horrible battles fought in the northern Pacific Rim in 1942-1943 during World War II where Japanese forces invaded and occupied the outermost islands in the Aleutian archipelago.

RELATED:  Here are several blog posts with images (here, here and here) from my recent visit to Attu and Kiska during my summer travels with Zegrahm Expeditions.

What I'm reading...

right now:  The Art of Raising a Puppy by The Monks at New Skete.  Why, you ask?

Rachel adopted this Australian Cattle Dog mix - a Red Heeler - just a week ago, now only nine weeks old, and now named Helen (in homage to Rachel's aunt):

 

What I'm reading...

right now: Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. My preliminary conclusion is that, as a good friend's father points out, "in life it's better to be lucky than smart."

But it's not available on the Kindle...

New Handbook Helps Newly Undead Zombies Adjust.

If you find your skin decomposing and suddenly have a craving for brains, here's the link for the book at my favorite on-line bookseller.

Plus a previous related zombie post.

RELATED: When Will the Great Zombie Bubble Burst?

What I'm reading...

right now:  On Food and Cooking - the Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee.

This encyclopedic work on culinary science isn't really meant to be read, chapter by chapter, but explored by "dipping" into various sections depending on your curiosity at the moment.  If you enjoy food  - the joyous intermingling of water, protein, fat and carbs - and are a serious science geek, then you'll definitely appreciate this tome.

Hat tip:  RT.  Thanks for the gift!

What I'm reading...

right now:  Bear Attacks - the Deadly Truth by J. G. Shelton.

Hat tip:  EG

RELATED:  Zucchini Handy for Fending Off Bear Attack

Paper wins again...

it seems: Reading on Paper is Faster than iBooks on the iPad.

Interesting, but I don't believe the study is statistically significant. Though I do accept that there are real differences in contrast, resolution, and comfort.

Previous related post.

What I'm reading...

right now: The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands - Region of Wonders by Terry Johnson and Kurt Byers. It's a lavishly illustrated presentation of the cultural and natural history of a remote part of the world, and though a broad treatment of a large region, it contains a wealth of detailed information.

What I'm reading...

right now in order to prepare for my travels this summer to Alaska and the Russian Far East: Where the Sea Breaks Its Back by Corey Ford. The subtitle says it all: "The epic story of early naturalist Georg Steller and the Russian exploration of Alaska."

Why hasn't a film been made...

of The Monkey Wrench Gang? Apparently one has been in the works - for decades - but never brought to fruition. Casting the main characters would be critical, and I'd personally like to see the Coen brothers direct the movie.

Hat tip: LS.

What I'm reading...

right now: Landscape of Desire by Greg Gordon. It's a mix of the pedagogical and geological.

Hat tip: RT.

Arriving in the mail...

yesterday was a copy of Arches National Park Geology Tour by Ragland and Tasa. It consists of a small, very well illustrated color booklet and an accompanying CD. The diagrams and images are excellent, but the simplified geologic map is much too small and should have been placed on a full page.

Additionally, one minor contradiction presents itself upon first glance. Balanced Rock is suggested as an example of the old age stage of arch development, and the scattered blocks of rock at its base are speculatively attributed to a fallen arch. Yet in a subsequent discussion of the same feature, the historic collapse of Chip Off the Old Block (a small pinnacle) in the mid-1970s is mentioned, which is the source of many of the fallen blocks. (See my post related to the missing Chip.)

In sum, my first impression is that this is a nice introductory guide to the unique geology of this gem of a park, targeted to the curious tourist.